Chapter 50 He Likes the Feisty Ones.

Chapter 50: He Likes the Fierce Ones.

Yan Weichu thrashed the men until the dandies wailed, repeatedly vowing never to return to such a place. Only then did he relent: "Get out, all of you. If I see you here again, you'll continue training every night from now on."

Eight hours of training a day was already brutal; continuing at night would be utterly unlivable!

But no one dared voice this. The dandies, looking as if they were mourning their parents, scrambled up and scurried away.

Zheng Shize cowered to the side, clasping his hands in supplication when Yan Weichu's gaze fell upon him: "I wouldn't dare either. Good cousin, grant me this favor."

In front of Xie Xiao, Yan Weichu couldn't openly punish him. Instead, he chided, "If there's a next time, I'll inform His Majesty and have him personally whip you."

Zheng Shize chuckled awkwardly, "...Understood."

With the matter settled, Yan Weichu's composure returned. He handed the jade belt back to Xie Xiao: "Thank you, cousin."

Xie Xiao didn't take it: "Can this still be worn?"

"Why not?" Yan Weichu stepped forward, personally helping him fasten the jade belt and reattaching the jade pendant identical to his own. His docile and attentive demeanor was a stark contrast to his earlier ferocity.

Xie Xiao watched him, his thoughts momentarily adrift.

Yan Weichu, in this state, was vastly different from the timid, cowering, and aggrieved young man he had first met. Yet, it wasn't surprising—that had merely been a performance staged for his benefit. Just how many faces did this little rascal possess? Xie Xiao found himself increasingly curious and amused.

Zheng Shize cleared his throat lightly, seeking attention: "Young Master, Marquis, would you care to stay for a drink?"

Xie Xiao spoke first: "We're heading back."

Yan Weichu had no objections. Having just disciplined others, he needed to lead by example.

Zheng Shize, in truth, was eager for them to leave so he wouldn't have to entertain them further. He promptly escorted them out.

As they left the brothel and walked toward the dock, Yan Weichu recalled Zheng Shize's earlier mention of "whips for recreational flogging." He asked again what kind of whips they were and when they were used, as he had never heard of such a thing.

Zheng Shize's eyes darted about. With Xie Xiao, that fierce Asura, right beside them, how could he dare explain? He hadn't expected his imperial cousin to be so innocent and clueless.

Well, if he hadn't even kissed anyone, there was no hope of him understanding—if Yan Weichu knew what he was thinking, he'd surely protest. What do you mean we haven't kissed? We kiss all the time!

Xie Xiao interjected: "Stop asking. It's nothing good."

Yan Weichu grew even more curious, leaning closer to Xie Xiao: "Cousin, what is it really?"

Xie Xiao stopped and looked at him: "No more questions."

Yan Weichu: "How tyrannical."

Xie Xiao's gaze shifted past him, then suddenly paused as he looked ahead. In the waterside pavilion, Xie Yi was there, grappling with a young male courtesan and clashing with other patrons.

Yan Weichu noticed the direction of his gaze and turned to look as well. Zheng Shize explained: "Young Master Xie has been coming here every night lately, carrying on passionately with this Xing'er. He's a regular here. But what's going on today? It seems like they're arguing?"

Xie Yi appeared drunk, his eyes red as he clutched the courtesan, demanding why he wouldn't obey and was entertaining other guests: "I told you I'd buy your freedom. Can't you even wait that long?"

Others scoffed: "Whoever has money gets his company. He's just a whore—what, you expect him to remain chaste for you?"

Xie Yi grew irritated. Sensing something, he glanced over and met Xie Xiao's gaze. He was stunned, a fleeting look of embarrassment crossing his face.

The courtesan he was holding tried to break free. Xie Yi's embarrassment morphed into anger directed at the other, and he shoved him hard.

The courtesan, caught off guard, cried out and stumbled backward, knocking over a nearby patron's wine table.

The men competing with Xie Yi for the courtesan's attention were displeased and slammed the table, rising to their feet: "What are you doing? Looking for trouble?"

Just as a fight was about to erupt, Xie Xiao had no intention of getting involved. He withdrew his gaze and said to Yan Weichu, "Let's go."

Xie Yi's attendant, seeing his master outnumbered and restrained, bravely ran over to stop them: "Marquis, the young master is drunk. Could you please help him...?"

Xie Xiao's expression remained cold, and he didn't move.

The attendant pleaded anxiously. Over there, Xie Yi was already engaged in a physical altercation. That group had no idea he was the young master of the Zhenguo Duke's residence, and even if they did, they might not care.

Zheng Shize quickly signaled for the house guards. Drunken brawls were a daily occurrence here, and he took it in stride.

Xie Yi was thrown to the ground. Yan Weichu observed the courtesan named Xing'er—willowy and delicate, he even resembled Young Master Su somewhat. No wonder.

Amused, he poked Xie Xiao's arm: "Cousin, are you really not going to intervene? If your family's matriarch finds out you stood by and watched her other precious grandson get beaten, she might just drop dead from anger."

Xie Yi's attendant continued to beg. Xie Xiao glanced at the smirking Yan Weichu and finally stepped forward.

Yan Weichu pursed his lips and signaled for his own guards to follow.

After watching for a while, Zheng Shize suddenly remembered something and sidled up to Yan Weichu to whisper: "Your Majesty, those men arguing with Xie Yi are all scholars taking the exams from the south. They've been spending lavishly here every day lately. I recall once when they were intoxicated, they bragged to the serving girls that they knew the contents of the exam. At the time, I thought they were just spouting nonsense, but it seems they actually passed the imperial examination. I don't know if it's a coincidence or not."

Yan Weichu frowned at this and looked at the men. They were all drunk, indulging in debauchery and acting recklessly—they didn't seem like the studious type. If the court were selecting officials from such people, it might as well not bother.

He shot Zheng Shize a glare: "Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

Zheng Shize awkwardly replied: "At the time, I didn't take it seriously and forgot about it. I only remembered when I saw them just now..."

Yan Weichu was exasperated, his expression gradually cooling. If these men weren't just boasting but had spoken the truth while drunk, this involved imperial examination fraud—meaning someone in the court was asking for trouble again.

Over there, Xie Xiao entered the pavilion. Not wanting to dirty his own hands, he had his men separate the quarreling parties. The guards had also arrived, and the commotion was quickly brought to an end.

Xie Yi struggled to his feet, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth expressionlessly.

Xie Xiao said: "Return to the residence. Your wife and the others are still waiting for you at home."

But Xie Yi was ungrateful. Perhaps he was drunk, or perhaps he was resentful. For the first time, he showed his true nature in front of Xie Xiao, coldly stating: "Elder Brother should worry about himself. Why bother with me?"

Zheng Shize clicked his tongue: "This Xie Yi really doesn't know what's good for him."

Yan Weichu, however, was well aware of Xie Yi's jealousy toward Xie Xiao. Especially since Jiang Shu had entered the capital garrison and became a fifth-rank company commander in the Shenji Battalion—Xie Yi naturally assumed it was Xie Xiao's doing. Xie Xiao would rather promote his maternal cousin than lend a hand to his own younger brother. How could he not feel resentful?

Xie Xiao probably also felt there was no point in wasting words. Once the matter was resolved, he turned back and signaled to Yan Weichu: "No more spectacle to see. Shall we go?"

Yan Weichu smiled: "Cousin, don't mind him. He doesn't appreciate kindness. Let's head back."

Upon returning to the residence, Xie Xiao still had some official documents to attend to and went to his study.

Yan Weichu followed him in. While Xie Xiao worked, Yan Weichu lounged by the desk, causing mischief. Curious, he reached for the documents on the desk, but Xie Xiao pressed his hand down: "Military secrets. You can't look."

"What's the harm in looking?" Yan Weichu muttered. Sooner or later, he'd see them anyway.

Xie Xiao said sternly: "A Li, when serving His Majesty, official matters are official, and private matters are private. You must always remember the distinction and not let success go to your head."

Yan Weichu nodded obediently: "I understand."

His cousin was always worrying about these things, and it was truly for his own good. He'd take the advice to heart.

He stopped bothering Xie Xiao but didn't want to return to his room yet, so he wandered idly by the curio cabinet. On the nearby sword rack were four or five prized swords. Xie Xiao had said they were part of his collection, but Yan Weichu had never examined them closely before.

The Green Frost Sword that Xie Xiao had won back at the Zhan Yun Yuan equestrian competition that day was also among them.

Yan Weichu picked them up one by one, drawing the blades from their scabbards for a closer look. They were all fine swords, sharp and imposing, making him loath to put them down once he held them.

Finally, he picked up the relatively inconspicuous jet-black sword on the far right. As he drew it from its scabbard, he noticed two seal-script characters engraved on the hilt: "Changning." He studied them for a moment before sliding the blade back into the scabbard and returning it to its place.

A knock came at the door. Since Yan Weichu had nothing else to do, he went to the outer room and opened the door himself.

A steward was outside and reported in a hushed tone that the gatehouse had earlier received an invitation addressed to the Marquis.

"What invitation?" Yan Weichu took it casually and unfolded it without a second thought.

The invitation was from that ever-persistent Young Master Su. Having passed the imperial examination as the Huiyuan, he naturally wanted to host a banquet to celebrate and had invited Xie Xiao to attend.

Yan Weichu thought it ridiculous. His husband was a military general—why would he go drink and sit among a bunch of scholars and students? What was this person thinking?

Moreover, what was the point of inviting Xie Xiao but not him? Trying to poach someone's spouse? How utterly shameless, shameless, shameless!

Yan Weichu calmly tore the invitation to pieces and signaled to the steward, "Go throw it away."

Fleas might not bite hard, but they were certainly annoying. Yan Weichu thought to himself, the weather's getting cold—time for this Young Master Su to cool off as well.

By the time Xie Xiao finished handling the official documents, Yan Weichu was still examining the items on the curio shelf. Xie Xiao stood up and walked over. "Ready to head back to our room?"

Yan Weichu tilted his head and asked, "Where did these swords come from?"

Xie Xiao glanced at them and said, "There's my grandfather's sword, my maternal grandfather's sword, and the sword my grandfather gave me before I went to the battlefield for the first time..."

"What about this one?" Yan Weichu gestured with his chin toward the sword on the far right. "Where did this one come from?"

Xie Xiao didn't elaborate, only saying, "A gift from a friend. Let's go."

Back in their room, Yan Weichu entered first. The steward, still worried, came to report to Xie Xiao about the invitation that Yan Weichu had torn up.

Xie Xiao listened without concern. "No matter that he tore it up."

He returned to the inner room, where Yan Weichu had already finished washing up. Barefoot, with his hair loose and draped in loose lounging robes, he was lounging on the daybed, yawning.

Servants brought hot water. Xie Xiao sat down beside him, removed his boots and socks, and planned to soak his feet.

Yan Weichu shifted closer, pressing his toes against Xie Xiao's calf and gently rubbing, only to have Xie Xiao hold his foot still. "Stop moving."

Yan Weichu defiantly placed his feet into the water and triumphantly stepped on Xie Xiao's instep.

Xie Xiao let him play and asked about the invitation.

Yan Weichu, displeased, stamped down harder. "What's wrong with me tearing it up? Did you actually want to go? Besides, cousin, you said yourself that in this household, my wishes are to be followed. Are you going back on your word?"

"No, I don't want to go," Xie Xiao said calmly. "No need to raise your voice—it makes you sound guilty."

Yan Weichu: "...Cousin, which of your eyes sees me as guilty?"

Guilty? Not really, just a bit embarrassed—behaving as though he were jealous, even though his actions were exactly that. But he would never admit it.

Xie Xiao couldn't be bothered to expose him. "Mm, you're not."

"..." Yan Weichu felt mocked.

He drew out his complaint in a whiny tone: "Cousin—"

Xie Xiao replied calmly, "What?"

"What were you talking about earlier? You know, don't you? Why won't you let me ask?"

The more Xie Xiao avoided the topic, the more curious Yan Weichu became, determined to get to the bottom of it.

Xie Xiao's expression was somewhat dismissive. "Stop asking."

"But I want to know," Yan Weichu insisted.

Xie Xiao fixed his gaze on him. "...Do you really want to know?"

Yan Weichu nodded vigorously.

Xie Xiao leaned in and whispered a few quick sentences into his ear.

Yan Weichu froze after hearing it... People actually did that?

"Are you tricking me?"

Xie Xiao leaned back. "Suit yourself if you don't believe me."

Yan Weichu shook his head in disbelief. Was that even possible? Wasn't that just self-torture? Was it fun?

Noticing the flicker of interest in Yan Weichu's expression, Xie Xiao cut off his train of thought. "Don't even think about it."

"I wasn't thinking about it," Yan Weichu retorted inwardly, thinking that Zheng Shize was truly a depraved scoundrel. He couldn't let his cousin be corrupted by him. But then again, his cousin already knew how to play that way—how did he learn?

Yan Weichu eyed him suspiciously. "So where did you learn this from?"

Xie Xiao said, "As I've told you, when it comes to matters of intimacy, you can learn a lot from books."

Yan Weichu was disgusted. "Cousin, what kind of indecent books have you been reading all day?"

Xie Xiao shook his head. In truth, it wasn't like that. The military camp was full of crude men who, deprived of real intimacy, often resorted to crude jokes and lewd talk. Although he never participated, he'd heard enough to understand how these things worked.

He would teach his little husband himself—the indecent stuff was better left alone.

Yan Weichu felt a sense of inadequacy, as if he'd been outdone. He stomped on Xie Xiao's foot again, then pushed him and climbed onto him.

Sitting face-to-face on Xie Xiao's lap, he grabbed Xie Xiao's collar and warned, "Cousin, you're not allowed to learn those indecent things either."

Xie Xiao swayed slightly from the push but steadied himself, gazing intently at Yan Weichu—his feigned ferocity, all claws and bared teeth, was more amusing than intimidating. It made him seem endearingly naive, tempting Xie Xiao to kiss him.

And so he did.

As his lips were captured, Yan Weichu instinctively said, "Don't bite me."

"Mm, I won't bite," Xie Xiao whispered soothingly.

Yan Weichu huffed and bit back.

He was still fierce—but it was a different kind of fierceness from the one he showed outsiders.

Playing hard to get, like a young beast baring its teeth yet offering its belly for affection, Xie Xiao thought.

A little fierceness was fine—he liked it fierce.